She had planned on staying home today, but work would do her good, it would take her mind off things. As she walked into the Jeffersonian she looked up and saw Agent Perotta there with Wendell. She swiped her card and walked up onto the platform, "A new case?"

"Morning Dr. Brennan, yes Agent Perotta and I went out on it last night."

"Do you need my assistance on anything?"

"No Dr. Brennan, I am doing fine so far."

"Oh Okay," she smiled as she walked off the platform towards her office. Angela was right behind her.

As Angela shut the door, she turned around. "So have you talked to Booth yet?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"He left town. He sent me a text message this morning."

"And"

"And what Angela?"

"Did you ask him why?"

"Yes"

"AND"

"He didn't answer the message."

"Bren have you eaten?"

Brennan stopped to think, "Yes last night, Sweets and I ordered in."

"SWEETS? What?"

"He came over to talk to me about Booth."

"And"

"Angela would you stop saying the word and."

"Well, give me details."

"Sweets thinks that once Booth was attainable, I think that is the word he used, that I got scared and hid behind my walls, which was the numb feeling I had. He told me to figure out if I loved Booth and then he could help me with the next step."

"Have you figure it out."

"I had multiple facts out on my table."

"On your table?"

"Yes I wrote down the facts on index cards."

"Sweetie, this is love, not a case. Either you love Booth or you don't."

"Angela I deal in facts."

"Yes, yes you do, but Booth does not fit into index card facts and you know that."

"How do I figure out if I love him or if I have moved on? Angela I don't know how."

"Come with me?" She grabbed Brennan's hand and purse and pulled her out of her office. "Cam" Cam turned around as she was about to go up on the platform. "Bren and I are taking the day off." Angela never stopped for a yes or no and just pulled Brennan out of the lab.

Cam stood there with a confused look on her face "Okay" she said very quietly as she stared at the now closed sliding door of the lab. "Do I have any control of my people in my lab?" Wendell looked up at her, not sure if he should answer. She shook her head slightly, "Don't answer that."

First stop was the Hoover Building and Booth's office. Hacker let them into Booth's office and left them alone.

"Bren what do you feel in here?"

"I am not sure what you mean?"

"Feelings, those things that you describe as chemicals released into the body."

"Sad"

Angela rolled her eyes, "Sit in his chair." Brennan did as Angela requested. "Now I want you to look around, at his desk at the shelves in his drawers, behind you and we will talk about it when we leave."

"Where did Booth get that picture of us? That is a rather old picture."

"Angela looked at it, that was taken for the newspaper when you were first working together, solving some 20 year old case. He asked for a copy of the picture and framed it and it has sat on his desk since."

She looked through each drawer and found the normal stuff and then came across a folder, filled with news paper articles about them as a crime solving team and multiple pictures that were taken for various news articles. There was also a CD from a talk show they had been on. "Did he keep everything?"

"When it comes to you as partners, yes he did. He is very proud of you and what you and he do together."

She turned around and saw the picture of him and Parker. It was a picture she took of them together and one of her favorites. Then another picture of him and her, Wonder woman and Clark Kent, the caption read "After a really bad date."

As she turned a little more a small yellow pad caught her eye. It was a doodle pad, she assumed that he used when he was talking on the phone. The doodles were of the nickname he gave to her and a small ink drawing she assumed was her.

"There are no pictures of Hannah here."

"There never were Bren and he never removed yours."

"How did I not notice?"

"Because you tend to be full steam ahead when you work and you miss the small details that aren't on a bone."

Brennan looked around his office for a few more minutes before Angela interrupted her, "Time to go." As they were walked out of the Hoover Building Angela asked Brennan to tell her what she felt looking at Booth's office.

"Sad, I feel empty here" she put her hand on her chest over her heart.

They pulled up at Booth's apartment. Angela saw the fake rock was missing; she turned and looked at Brennan. "I know you have a key to his apartment."

"Yes, but Angela that is for emergencies."

"This is an emergency of the heart, open it!" she pointed at the lock. Brennan tightens her lips into a thin line across her face and pulls her keys out. "Walk around and see what you find."

Brennan wandered through the living room and found the phone Hannah bought him at her recommendation was missing. Her Books were back on the bookshelf, she hadn't seen them after Hannah moved in. She turned back around and looked in his front closet and there was her stake out bag, where it always was. She walked into the kitchen and noticed there was a plastic storage container with bags of her favorite tea in it. She looked into his cupboards and found the two over sized coffee cups they got. She smiled; she had always forgotten to take hers home.

She walked back through the living room and into his bedroom. Her eyes were drawn to the bedside tables. The lamps he had her help him pick out and a small picture of her. It was a profile taken from behind her, she was smiling. She opened his closet and ran her hands over his suit jackets and his shirts. She said on his bed and absently pulled a pillow to her. It smelled like him, his scent that she knew so well after so many years. The scent that comforted her when she was upset and could make her knees fail when he would lean close to her. She hadn't noticed but tears started to run down her cheeks.

She walked out into the living room and looked at Angela. "I find it strange that he has picture of me on his bedside table, but I find no pictures of Hannah anywhere, not even in drawers."

"Bren, he loves you I don't find it strange. So I see tears. Can you live without him?"

"Angela if something was to happen to Booth, I would have to live without him, but I think I know what you mean. No, I would prefer not to live without him, but that still doesn't tell me if I love him or not."

"Couple more stops, let's go."

"This is starting to sound like a movie Booth made me watch; a popular Christmas show."

"A Christmas Carol."

"Yes"

They stopped at The Diner and at The Founding Fathers and at each stop Brennan became a little emotional. The last stop was Brennan's apartment. Here she faced his stake out bag in her closet, the TV he managed to get her to buy for him when he came over, Brainy smurf, and Jasper the pig, and his sweats she kept managing to steal.

"So Angela was all this running around suppose to do something."

"Yes, but I am pretty sure it won't hit you until you are alone. So call me when it does." She hugged Brennan and left her alone with Booth's essences surrounding her.

Booth sat on a deck overlooking St John Bay in St. Thomas Virgin Islands. He sipped his coffee while he stared out over the bay. The colors were so vibrate here, different shades of green and the turquoise water was magnificent. He checked his watch, it was still rather early, but this would be the best time to walk the beach, then after he was going to take a Jet Ski out into the bay. He pushed himself up and headed down to the beach.

As he wandered along the beach he found his thoughts drifting to her. He wanted to talk to her more than anything, but he didn't want her to feel like she was being rushed, he had told her to take her time. He found himself wondering what she was doing. Would she have stopped and got coffee, something he usually did. He wondered if she ate, he hoped Cam and the group were keeping an eye on her, she would forget otherwise.

He turned back so he could go pick up a Jet Ski, once he was sitting in the middle of the bay just listening to the water lapping against the jet ski and feeling the wind in his face, he thoughts against drifted to her. How could he think coming here would get his mind off her? This place always gave him the ability to just think and clear his mind. He couldn't get her vacate his brain.

He went back to the shore after a couple of hours and turned in his Jet Ski. As he walked back to his motel room, he could feel the burning sensation in his shoulders immediately followed by her voice in his head reprimanding him for not putting on any sun screen, especially being on a jet ski surrounded by reflective water.

He took his buddies car, which was more like a tin can on wheels, down to the local market and picked up a bottle of whiskey, a bottle of tequila, some beer, sunscreen and some food for the next several days. He thought the sunburn might keep him close to the condo and he might as well have everything he needed.

As soon as he stepped foot back in the apartment he took two shots of tequila and poured him some whiskey and sat on the deck overlooking the bay. He leaned back on a lounge and dozed off with the afternoon breeze flowing over him.

"Booth, why are you here?"

He looked up and she was standing there in a slick one piece bright blue suit with a shear cover up that fluttered in the breeze on the deck. "Bones, I came here to think, to prepare myself for you to dump me."

"Booth why would you think I was going to dump you. I had told you I did not want any regrets."

"Maybe you don't have any now."

"Oh do you think that is true?"

"I hope not."

"So then you are here to get over me and move on, much like you went to Afghanistan."

"Bones, I will never get over you. You are part of me. I am here to try to figure out how to not be over you and still get up every day."

She sat down next to him on the lounge. She tilted her head to one side. "I miss you Booth, I wish you would come home."

He put his arm across her legs and rested his hand on her waist, allowing his thumb to make small circles against her suit. "I miss you too Bones, but it would be very easy to just stay here. I mean come on get a load of this life."

She leaned down and kissed him soundly on his lips. "Can I persuade you to come home?"

"I don't know Bones, you would have to do a lot of persuading."

"Girls just wanna have fun, That's all they really want, is just some fun." Booth looked at her puzzled on why she would start to sing Girls just wanna have fun. As he came out of his fog, he sat straight up and frantically looked around for Bones. The dream was so real, he could feel her lips on his. He went in and pulled his phone off the night stand and flipped it open to pull up the text message from her.

I am curious why you have pictures of me and us on your desk at work and a picture of me on your night stand?

She had been in his office and his apartment. What the hell did she think she was doing?

Same damn reason you have pictures on your desk and in your apartment. I shouldn't
have to explain it to you.

He closed his phone and covered it with a pillow. He didn't need to explain this to her now. He took another shot of tequila and went back to the deck. He couldn't even take a nap without her plaguing him. It was only the first day, maybe tomorrow would be better. One day at a time Booth one day at a time.